State says the Acreage may have elevated cancer rates; launches second phase of investigation

State health officials this afternoon announced that The Acreage may have a higher than expected rate of cancer and will be launching a second phase of investigation into the matter.

The state Department of Health did not, however, say whether a "cancer cluster" is in The Acreage.

The DOH in a press release said "cancer rates have been increasing from 2000-2007, although the increases may be a reflection of dated population numbers."

The statement also said that "a Level II cancer cluster investigation will begin promptly" in order to "recalculate cancer rates using more recent population estimates, verify if any particular brain cancer is more common than expected; and describe the residence history and other risk factors of pediatric brain cancer cases through interviews."

Meanwhile, in the same release, the state Department of Environmental Protection said samples taken early this month at 50 wells in a 36-square-mile area within and around the Acreage area "show all residential wells meet drinking water standards."

But a raw water sample - meaning before the water was treated for consumption - at Seminole Improvement District water plant showed "a minor exceedance for radium 226."

The Seminole plant, which supplies water to most public schools in The Acreage, meets regulatory standards and uses a reverse osmosis system to treat water, according to the DEP.

The DEP this week took additional water samples at that plant, testing all five of the wells that supply it, whereas the original sample came from just one well.

"DEP does not expect to see an exceedance of radium 226 in the post treatment water sample," the release said.

The DOH's Level I investigation, which began several months ago at the behest of a resident, looked at cancer rates in the 50,000-resident community from 1995-2007. It involved "the review of information surrounding the cases, the geographic area in question and the cancer types involved," the release said.

The incidence of pediatric brain cancer was specifically looked at, and six cases were found during the period from 1997-2007.